The struggle and balance that is emerging is the same as the young filmmaker
French poetic realist director Jean Renoir said, "A director makes only one film in his life, and all subsequent works are imitations and improvements of his debut"; But for young filmmakers, the debut film that sets their personal style is often not smooth sailing, and when all kinds of pressures follow, how can they take the first step to complete the "first self"?
Author: Mist
Editor: Prince Zhi
Format: Wang Wei
Chinese young filmmakers have gradually grown into the backbone of Chinese films and shined on the stage of world cinema, not only showing the industry the increasingly mature industrialization level of Chinese films, but also allowing the audience to see more possibilities.
Not long ago, in the Cannes International Film Festival Chinese Youth Film Global Promotion Plan, films such as "Walking on the Moon Alone", which focuses on "comedy + science fiction", "Umbilical Cord", which is very Mongolian-themed style, and "Where to Grow" that focuses on single-parent family issues, have entered international exchanges, and the unique sharpness and angularity of young filmmakers are visible in the works.
The young filmmakers of the post-90s and post-95s generation grew up in different era backgrounds, and their life experiences, creative visions and personal ideas have injected new vitality into the film industry. Black & White Entertainment exclusively talks to many young filmmakers behind these works, hoping to see their attempts, thinking and growth in the process of film creation.
The struggle and balance that is emerging at the forefront
French poetic realist director Jean Renoir said, "A director makes only one film in his life, and all subsequent works are imitations and improvements of his debut"; But for young filmmakers, the debut film that sets their personal style is often not smooth sailing, and when all kinds of pressures follow, how can they take the first step to complete the "first self"?
Long Lingyun, the director of "Where to Grow", said frankly, "I spent five years witnessing the birth process of my debut film, which is equivalent to learning how to make films from beginning to end, and now I have finally graduated." This experience not only allowed Long Lingyun to see his regrets, but also found room for improvement.
At the script stage, Long Lingyun was a little daunted at first, and he did not dare to directly express the plot of ethical conflict in the relationship between the protagonists and characters. But director Guan Hu told him that "a new director is to be bold." It turns out that the revised version highlights the emotional connection between the siblings more vividly and also impresses the audience.
However, not all young filmmakers are willing to break stereotypes like Long Lingyun, according to the observation of Liu Hui, CEO of Bad Rabbit Pictures and producer of "Umbilical Cord", young people are easy to fall into a kind of "boundary" in the creative process, however, in the state at that time, they did not realize that they needed to wait until three or five years to jump out of the thinking framework.
Executive producer Yao Chen, director Qiao Sixue, executive producer Cao Yu, producer Liu Hui (from right to left)
Emerging screenwriters and directors will feel that they have fully mastered the story they have conceived in their hearts, and everything can be self-consistent, but things are changing every moment, and it is difficult for creators to clarify whether these things are what they want to express today or what they still want to express tomorrow.
In Liu Hui's view: "The biggest challenge facing young filmmakers is how to master the degree of openness and how to insist on self-expression, which needs to be balanced." ”
Zhang Li, the producer of "Walking on the Moon Alone", resonates deeply with this. As early as February 2018, after seeing the comic "Alone on the Moon", director Zhang Li and Zhang Yuyu decided to develop this story together, negotiate the copyright and start creating at the same time, but they never thought that after the script outline was written, the plot set by Duguyue driving back to the capsule to crash and sacrifice actually collided with "The Wandering Earth" released shortly thereafter.
Although he lamented that "the creators are sometimes connected, and it may be that at the same time, directors all over the world are creating the same theme", "Alone on the Moon" had to be torn back and restarted.
In the run-in collision again and again, the team's idea is that Duguyue sacrificed himself and saved the earth, "We thought about letting Duguyue use Lego to spell out the return capsule, and drove the Lego return capsule to hit a meteorite, and bloomed a colorful flower in the universe."
Although this idea is in line with the youthful sense of director Zhang Eatyu, the team is worried that sci-fi fans will pick on such an ending as unrealistic, and the story is deduced to the end, Zhang Eatyu finally thought of letting Duguyue use the characteristics of no gravity in space, and sacrifice himself with a nuclear bomb with the help of a steam backpack, which finally solved the problem that had plagued the team for a long time.
Producer Zhang Li
Define yourself first, then dive into creation
Liu Hui remembers that when he got the script of "Umbilical Cord", it was the ninth version, but before the start, the script had been changed to the nineteenth version, and what impressed Liu Hui the most was the simple and simple mother-son relationship in the film. Liu Hui and director Qiao Sixue, both from Hulunbuir, quickly established an emotional connection with the customs and people depicted in the script, and began to recall their relationship with their mother.
The film presents the relationship between man and nature, the emotions of mother and child, and the situation of growing in a specific land in the face of life and death, which is both universal and unique, and has an otherworldly charm. The director's understanding of life and death is also becoming more and more mature in repeatedly revising the script.
The most precious spiritual core of "Umbilical Cord" is the attitude towards death, and many film and television works have rendered the sadness of death, but "Umbilical Cord" poetically deals with the topic of death in the form of romanticism. Liu Hui often thinks about whether life and death are the boundaries of human freedom, or is death a form of freedom?
In addition, the side plot of "The Umbilical Cord" is also the epitome of many wanderers wandering abroad, in the migratory society, many people are adrift because of their dreams, but they have to return to their hometowns because of their parents' health. It is quite a pity that parents have a hard time raising their children, but it means staying away, even if the children return to them, there is a strong uncertainty about how long they can get along.
"Where to Grow" puts the contradiction on women's sacrifice in patriarchal thinking, before making the movie, Long Lingyun did a lot of research, he found: "When a family needs someone to make sacrifices, women always bear the brunt, many women feel unable to raise their heads because they have not had children, and even are asked for divorce by their husbands." ”
In the patriarchal society, some people have made very exaggerated moves to give birth to sons, and the drama is comparable to the sketch of "Super Guerrilla". Although the national policy of only child had been introduced at that time, and the idea of having both boys and girls was proposed, the concept of having a son has not changed because of this, and many people are still exploiting loopholes.
After the investigation, Long Lingyun, as a man, began to reflect deeply on this matter, and substituted himself into the situation of the male protagonist, if his younger brother Cheng Fei knew one day that his half-sister He Sheng had experienced such suffering, what would he think of this matter? Will he be indifferent, will he completely feel that this person's life has nothing to do with him? "I think Cheng Fei, as a new generation, must have his own attitude, their thinking about patriarchal society has changed, although this consciousness may awaken late, but it is better to be late than indifferent", which is why Long Lingyun wants to record it.
Long Lingyun also observed that the pillar of many families is still women, they need to earn money to support the family, but also take care of children, while many men simply do a palm cabinet, playing mahjong all day, in this case, women often show very strong, but in fact a fragile strength. To this end, Long Lingyun projects his compassion for the current social situation into his works, and he also hopes that his works can make people aware of some problems in the current society.
Director Long Lingyun (right)
Deep cultivation, arrive at a better solution
Young filmmakers will inevitably show their youthful side in content creation, but with the maturity of domestic film industrialization, the entire film industry is also helping young filmmakers grow and transform in a more professional way.
When Zhang Li's happy twist team cooperates with a new director, it will first judge whether the topic should continue to advance according to whether it is commercial and whether the story can move people. When creating a script, the team will provide resources according to the area in which each new director is specialized, such as someone who is good at weaving structure, someone who is good at capturing emotions or guiding performances, and forming a director-centered creative team to enrich the story together.
In the process of film production, Happy Twist will also match the most suitable creative team for new directors, including photography, art, sound, action, visual effects, etc., so as to help directors turn text into images. Taking Zhang Eat Fish as an example, after he wrote the story outline of "Walking on the Moon Alone", he invited science fiction consultant Bassduo to build a science fiction bridge with him, so as to enhance the professionalism, rigor and interest of science fiction movies; After writing the syllabus, the concept design team came in to help the director enrich the script from a visual style.
In Liu Hui's view, the original intention of the creator is a valuable starting point, just like the first shot at the beginning of the marathon, the original intention determines the temperament and direction of the film, whether the creator wants to achieve artistic expression or commercial expression, the first stage is best to return to the content itself, this content comes from the deep emotions in the heart, and it is also the most shining point of the work.
Although the original intention has a sense of amazement, but not all of the original intention can be implemented at the script level, Liu Hui gave such an example to describe the original intention. Once climbing a mountain, he saw a seagull, so he chased the seagull walking around, and used the camera to capture the picture of the seagull spreading its wings, when he got closer, the seagull flew away, at that moment, Liu Hui thought of many things, "This is the motivation, and how to convert the motivation into a script requires professional technology."
After coming to the production link, whether it is the revision of the script or the shooting of the film, the team strives to protect the original intention of the creator to the greatest extent. Liu Hui admits that there are boundaries in any creation, and how creators can find the best expression within limited funds, limited shooting days, and geographical restrictions is actually a process of rational thinking.
In addition to the original intention, the openness of the creator is also extremely important, which involves how to integrate with everyone when working with the team, understand each other's feelings, and complete a work together. This requires creators to be both open and independent, so that they can produce content that matches the temperament of the work.
When Long Lingyun revised the script, he adopted the suggestions of many teachers before and after, and also cooperated with many screenwriters to polish several versions of the script. At first, Long Lingyun wrote the first version from the perspective of his brother's character, and the script was also lucky to be selected for the first Shanghai Film Festival venture capital training camp, and Chen Jie of Yixin Entertainment gave the suggestion that the story is very complete, but the focus is on the experience of his younger brother, the perspective is too single, the real experience is the sister, this role should not be wasted.
As a male creator, Long Lingyun felt that it was difficult to describe the delicacy and softness of female characters, so he invited a talented female creator Xingguo to cooperate and jointly completed the dual-perspective creation of his sister and younger brother, Xingguo completed many delicate brushstrokes about the relationship between mother and daughter in the film.
By chance, the third screenwriter Jin Junqi also joined it, previously, he wrote a commercial genre film of suspense detective, which just fits Long Lingyun's idea of using suspense tension to mobilize the audience's attention, and the two tried to cut each plot point, shuffle it, and then rebuild it like a puzzle.
Looking back on that experience, Long Lingyun also has regrets: "It is difficult to use parallel narratives for the first film, how to connect parallel clues, how to comfortably stitch, this requires experience." ”
The fourth green onion project also provided a lot of help to Long Lingyun at the creative level, the teacher of the screenwriting workshop will carefully read the script, and make relevant notes, give their own opinions on a certain plot, Long Lingyun's screenwriting instructor is Cui Siwei, the director guidance teacher is Guan Hu, the team members and instructors of the green onion project not only help students polish their works more maturely, and the students who enter the top five also receive millions of support funds.
Creation and the market, willfulness and rationality
For young filmmakers, they often fall into financial difficulties in the process of content creation, and at this time, the support of the film market is crucial.
Long Lingyun was lucky, he got millions of funds after winning the top five of the fourth Green Onion Project, and when he filmed "Where to Grow", he also got the help of Li Shaohong, Matthew and other seniors, and accomplished a lot of things at a relatively low price.
When solving the funding problem, Zhang Li will fully communicate with the director about the creative content, and try her best to grasp the balance between the quality of the work and budget management, "The director may want more expensive scenes, I think the scene with a lower budget can also meet the director's creative needs, and we will discuss together, whether this plan is okay." The same is true when buying music copyrights in the later stage, if Zhang Li feels that the music copyright of a certain song is not necessary, she will persuade the director to give up.
Driven by the strategy of reducing costs and increasing efficiency, film and television companies have become more rational when investing, and many films will suddenly suspend their launch for various reasons such as failing to meet market expectations, and it is even more difficult for young filmmakers to get opportunities.
When creating, young filmmakers also face a double challenge, they are easy to enter a dead end on the one hand, and it is easy to enter the realm of nothingness on the other, which is actually a stage process. They first open themselves, and after entering the realm of nothingness, they will find themselves again.
Zhang Li believes that young filmmakers need to be more sober in their creation, whether it is to be the head of commercial value or the head of artistic value, they need to do the best content, so as to attract limited funds, through these films, the capital has obtained commercial or artistic returns, will be willing to invest more funds, and eventually form a virtuous circle.
In terms of polishing content, Liu Hui feels that most creators can listen to opinions, the core difficulty is how to digest the opinions after the opinions come, "how to surpass their own age and jump out of the framework of experience, is a particularly difficult thing, young filmmakers need to listen more, watch more, think more, empathize more, so that it is possible to surpass the current self, the work can also absorb more things."
The center of works, the growth of industrialization
In the North American market and the European market, film practitioners advocate the producer-centric system, while the domestic market tends to the director-centric system. Liu Hui believes that art works take the original intention as the starting point and should adhere to the work-centric system, "whether it is a director or a producer, everyone should give up a lot of complex things that play games with people, and let the creator return to purity and simplicity."
The best state of film creation should be to find directors and producers who understand and empathize with each other, and at the same time, everyone can have deeper empathy and consensus with the work, which is more conducive to returning to the work itself.
Zhang Li also feels that all work must serve content, and before becoming a producer, she worked as a director's assistant, so she is familiar with a series of industrial processes in filming and production. At that time, "Iron Fist of Shame" had just begun to prepare, and Zhang Li was responsible for helping the director dock all departments involved in the director's shooting, such as photography, art, storyboarding, and action, coordinating the director's time, and confirming whether the work of each department met the director's needs.
Not only that, Zhang Li is also responsible for coordinating the post-production work, including the iteration of the edited version, communicating various details of music, color grading, mixing, subtitles, and copies with the release time. "After finishing the whole film, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had confirmed every frame of the film that would be shown in the cinema in the future," Zhang Li said. She feels that every cell in her body is fully mobilized, every day the progress bar is constantly refreshed, and every problem she solves for the shooting will eventually be presented in the film, which is a very imaginative thing.
Long Lingyun was a director for the first time but had to face the problem that the whole team was very young, and the two artists in the crew even grew up little by little from concept films, and there were often unexpected changes on the set, such as the loss of props and other unexpected situations, but fortunately they all ended up in danger.
But the work has always been the spiritual pillar of the team, and Long Lingyun is also a needle-like existence of the sea god: "I think as a director, your responsibility is to lead this group of people, and after completing the work, don't let others feel very humiliated." ”
THE END
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